second-guessing

verb

present participle of second-guess
1
as in outguessing

Related Words

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2
as in reasoning

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-guessing
  1. balking
  2. reasoning
  3. overreaching
  4. analyzing
  5. outmaneuvering
  6. reviewing
  7. outsmarting
  8. exploring
Verb
  • Medicare has started coverage of GLP-1s for older adults under the bridge program, but some employers and insurers are balking at paying for the weight-loss medications.
    — Ken Alltucker, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Many residents are balking at that timing and at Ryan’s lawsuit against Killingly’s wetlands board for rejecting the first version of the plan on July 6.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of balking
Verb
  • Now apply that to everything else that a student might do in an educational setting, from reading comprehension to reasoning to critical thinking to even making friends.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Some aldermen sought to ban them, reasoning that businesses using them should switch to the legalized, and therefore regulated and taxed, VGTs.
    — Joe Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of reasoning
Verb
  • While most judges have categorized such requests as overreaching or for an improper purpose, two out of three judges on the panel ruled that there was nothing out of line about the QueerDoc request.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Republican lawmakers disagree, saying that the approval is just another example of an overreaching government.
    — Tom Wait, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of overreaching
Verb
  • Maithreyi Gopalan is a professor and researcher at the University of Oregon and has been analyzing the latest files over the last two days.
    — Jonaki Mehta, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026
  • That’s what Florida International University researchers learned while testing popular smartwatches from Apple, Fitbit, Samsung and Garmin as part of a new study analyzing how effective the wearable tech is for tracking calories.
    — Michelle Marchante September 4, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of analyzing
Verb
  • The characters' abilities are built around outmaneuvering, not outgunning.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • May built one of the most dominant teams in Big Ten history by outmaneuvering his peers in the transfer portal.
    — Austin Meek, New York Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of outmaneuvering
Verb
  • Details can differ from one report to another, so reviewing only one may leave gaps.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The commission, in court documents, maintains ABC’s lawsuit was premature because regulators simply were in the process of reviewing whether ABC has served the public interest in operating its eight television stations.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of reviewing
Verb
  • The problem, according to Hinton, is that humans will no longer be able to rely on outsmarting super-intelligent AI models.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The Fan, the season-long unsub obsessed with one-upping and outsmarting his idol.
    — Joyce Eng, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026
Definition of outsmarting
Verb
  • Researchers are also exploring combinations of cancer vaccines and other treatments, such as checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy, to strengthen the body's anti-cancer response.
    — Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Orwell was exploring the roles that euphemism, tangled syntax, and dying metaphors can play in obscuring the true intentions of a totalitarian state.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of exploring
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

second-guesses
second-guessing
secondhand
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Cite this Entry

“Second-guessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-guessing. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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